Free Clinic

Pauline Chau, RD, CDE, a volunteer from Sequoia Hospital, speaks with one of our patients about the importance of nutrition as an essential component to diabetes management during one of our Diabetes Care Days.

Did you know: Uninsured individuals with diabetes have 79% fewer physician office visits, but also have 55% more emergency department visits than diabetic individuals who have insurance? (Source: American Diabetes Association)

It is for reasons such as these that Samaritan House is excited to begin offering monthly ‘Diabetes Care Days’ at our Redwood City Clinic. This exciting new program will help empower our patients with the self-management tools and educational resources they need to prevent and control a variety of diabetic issues.

“I love volunteering with Samaritan House because I get to spend more time talking with my patients. I enjoy being able to give individuals my full attention and help them with their issues.” Laura Blackwell, RN, FNP – El Camino Hospital.

At a special weekend clinic event in January, diabetic patients were screened for complications, provided with medications, and given flu vaccinations. Because individuals with diabetes are more prone to foot problems, a screening station was set up to identify potential issues and instruct patients about how to keep their feet healthy.

Educational classes were also provided by a volunteer dietitian from Sequoia Hospital, who provided one-on-one counseling about what to look for on food labels, how to plan meals, and how to exercise proper portion control.

Samaritan House patient Jeanine Ortiz was one of the individuals taking part in the nutrition classes offered that day. According to Jeanine, she came to Redwood City Clinic a few years ago for help maintaining her high blood pressure, but was informed during her initial visit that she was exhibiting elevated glucose levels and was at-risk of developing diabetes.

“I had no idea that anything was wrong,” says Jeanine. “I was unemployed at the time and didn’t have the money to afford any extra medications, so I knew that I had to do whatever I could to avoid becoming diabetic.”

Fortunately, through weight loss and watching her diet, Jeanine has been able to maintain a normal glucose range. She feels great and is so thankful for the help she received from Samaritan House.

A special thank you to all of our program volunteers for helping provide these very necessary screenings and classes and to Stanford Hospital and Clinics for their financial support! As always, we also extend our sincere appreciation to the Sequoia Healthcare District, which over the past ten years has contributed more than $5 million dollars in support of our Redwood City Health Clinic, and has continued to help us serve a very vulnerable group of residents.

This year’s Wish Book story from Samaritan House features dental patient, Ronaldo, who came to our clinic from by way of our Safe Harbor Shelter. Ronaldo, who is currently uninsured, was seen at the San Mateo Clinic for help maintaining his diabetes, dental work, and for a referral to surgically treat the cataracts which previously rendered him unable to work and to see.

Your donation to Samaritan House helps individuals like Ronaldo receive the medical & dental treatment needed to live a full and healthy life. Read his story in the Wish Book and please consider a donation to help patients like Ronaldo at both of our free clinics:

“I am very thankful for the Breast Clinic. I have learned the appropriate way to examine myself…Thank you very much for all your help provided to us as women.” Samaritan House Breast Clinic patient

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month – According to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, approximately 1 in 8 women (12%) will be affected by breast cancer in her lifetime.

The Samaritan House Breast Care Clinic was started in 1999 by a group of female physician volunteers at the Free Clinic of San Mateo who were concerned that low-income women, without access to healthcare, were not aware of the importance of routine breast screenings. Our Breast Care Clinic exists today to provide breast cancer prevention, education, and screening services for low-income women in San Mateo County.

The Breast Care Clinic reduces barriers to providing uninsured women with access to high-quality and timely breast health care services. Many clients in our target population are unaware of the risks they face and the importance of regular self-examination, clinical breast exams, and early detection. This program is particularly important in getting clients to change their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about regularly performing a breast self-exam and screening mammograms.

Dr. Lynn B. Rosenstock, a volunteer physician at Samaritan House’s San Mateo Clinic, spoke recently about the breast care clinic and the importance of education about breast cancer.

We had an amazing day on Saturday, July 27th at the Beyond Compassion Weekend at our free clinic in Redwood City. Volunteers from the Menlo Park Presbyterian Church joined us to help provide medical & dental services to members of the community in need.

We are proud to report that we served 57 medical and dental patients during this one event! A big thank you to all of the volunteer physicians who saw patients that day, and to those volunteers who helped support the doctors by interpreting, assisting patients, finding charts and doing the important stuff behind the scenes that keeps our clinic running.